The Black List Annual Labs
Lab · 2026Prestige 82/100
A week in Ojai with flights, ground transport, lodging and meals covered. No lab fee, but you cannot enter for nothing.
Deadlines & fees
- Submission period closesPassed1 Jun 2026$130
Closed for this cycle
The 2026 cycle opened on 14 October 2025 and closed on 1 June 2026; no time of day or timezone is published for any date in the ladder, so we have stored the date alone. The cycle is still running: longlist 6 July, personal statements 13 July, shortlist 27 July, additional materials 3 August, interview candidates 1 September, interviews 9 to 11 September, final participants notified 16 September 2026. The Writers Lab meets 12 to 16 October 2026 in Ojai. TWO DATES CONFLICT FOR THE PROJECTS LAB: the ladder reads 9 to 13 November 2025 while the body of the same page says mid-November 2026, and both carry a footnote that lab dates are to be confirmed. This operator has previous here, since the 2025 page carried 2024 dates inside an otherwise-2025 ladder. No 2027 edition is posted yet, though the index already lists 2027 entries for other Black List programmes. The 1 June close and the Ojai October-November rhythm held across both 2025 and 2026, so a June 2027 deadline is a reasonable expectation.
Dates and fees checked against the official site 9 Aug 2026.
Key facts
- Formats
- Feature
- Eligibility
- Income cap18+No credit required
- Open to
- United States
- Required materials
- A feature-length screenplay posted on blcklst.com for at least one week during the submission period, with the Program Submission Call opted into · Projects Lab only: a working link to a directing sample · If longlisted: a one-page biography and personal statement · If longlisted: a resume, contact and personal information, and signed originals of the Submission Agreement · Sloan track only: the science advisor's name, title and area of expertise, plus an attestation of scientific accuracy
A LONE WRITER APPLIES DIRECTLY, and must be the sole author: you must be the sole and exclusive author of an original feature-length screenplay, competent to contract and over 18. THERE IS AN INCOME CAP, which is the gate that decides most cases: you must not have earned more than 100,000 US dollars in aggregate in connection with any prior scriptwriting work, whether for features or television. No credits are required, and no nationality requirement is published, but the travel clause constrains it in practice, since if air travel is required you must be available to be flown to Los Angeles from a major airport within the continental United States; whether an overseas entrant may apply and self-fund is not addressed. To enter you must post a feature-length script on blcklst.com for at least one week during the submission period and opt in to the Program Submission Call. One cohort per script, though multiple scripts are permitted. Selection requires availability on the stated dates: if you are selected and cannot attend, the Black List may offer your place to the runner up. The Black List reserves the right to choose no candidate if no entry is of sufficient merit. No page limit is published.
Prizes
NO CASH PRIZE, STIPEND OR GRANT IS PUBLISHED FOR EITHER COHORT, and that absence is real rather than a gap in our reading: other Black List programmes on the same index do publish figures, such as the Parenthood Fellowship's 15,000 dollar grant and NRDC's 20,000 dollars each to three writers. The award here is entirely in kind, and it is substantial. Twelve writers, six per cohort. Air travel in coach class round-trip within the continental United States, ground transport to and from the Los Angeles airport and all Lab events, and accommodation, room and tax, are provided by the Black List, and MEALS ARE ALSO PROVIDED. Attendance and boarding in the provided accommodation are compulsory for the duration, as is proof of vaccination including boosters per current CDC guidelines and willingness to test for COVID-19 before arrival. An asterisk after "room and tax only" has no visible footnote, so incidentals are presumably yours. No cash figure is published for the Sloan Fellowship track. RIGHTS: NOTHING IS TAKEN. No option, first refusal, exclusivity or development-slate claim appears anywhere, which distinguishes this sharply from several programmes at a similar level. What the Submission Agreement does contain is a broad idea-misappropriation waiver and a general release: you agree you will not be entitled to compensation for the use of similar or identical material independently created by the company or arriving from another source, and you release the company from all claims arising from any assertion that it used or appropriated your material, except for fraud or wilful misconduct. This comes with an express California Civil Code section 1542 waiver and mandatory individual arbitration in Los Angeles, in which no award may exceed the minimum rate that would be due under the WGA Theatrical and Television Basic Agreement, with all other relief at law or equity including injunctive relief expressly waived. Company is defined broadly to include sponsors, affiliates, licensees, successors and assigns. Selected writers also grant name, likeness and biography use in promotional materials for future iterations.
Judging
Selectors and mentors are not named; selection is as determined by the Black List, with a Zoom interview round, and mentors are described only as professional screenwriting mentors. The Sloan Foundation has approval over any writer selected for its fellowship track. Written feedback is not part of the Lab. The paid evaluation that gates entry is itself written feedback, but it is bought separately at 100 US dollars for a feature.
The PreList verdict
The best in-kind offer in this directory. Flights, ground transport, lodging and meals all covered for a week in Ojai, workshopping your feature one-to-one with professional mentors alongside sessions with executives, agents and managers. Twelve places across two cohorts. And unlike almost every programme at this level, the Black List takes nothing: no option, no first refusal, no claim on your slate. There is an income cap of 100,000 dollars in prior scriptwriting earnings, no credit requirement, and a lone writer applies alone.
The cost needs explaining, because "no application fee" is true and also misleading. The Lab charges nothing, but you cannot enter without your script hosted on blcklst.com, at 30 dollars a month, and the help centre states that every program and lab requires at least one pending or completed evaluation at the point of opt-in, which is 100 dollars for a feature. That is 130 dollars to be in the room. Two things cut against that number and you should know both: the governing 2026 Submission Requirements document asks only that you post the script for a week and opt in, dropping the evaluation line the 2024 document carried, so it may be 30 dollars; and the Black List gives every writer one general fee waiver a year covering one evaluation and one month of hosting, which can make it nothing. Budget 130, hope for less.
The rights terms are clean on acquisition and heavy on release. The Submission Agreement contains a broad idea-misappropriation waiver, a California section 1542 waiver, and mandatory arbitration in Los Angeles capping any award at WGA minimum with injunctive relief expressly waived. That waiver is close to industry standard and is not what should decide this for you. What should is that nobody takes a piece of your script, which is rarer than it sounds.
Dylian Salvatore, Founder of The PreList · Updated 9 Aug 2026
Frequently asked questions
Is there an entry fee?
Not for the Lab, but entering is not free. Your script must be hosted on blcklst.com at 30 dollars a month, and the help centre states every program requires at least one pending or completed evaluation at opt-in, which is 100 dollars for a feature. Budget 130 dollars. Note the governing 2026 document asks only for hosting, and a once-yearly general fee waiver covers one evaluation and one month of hosting, so it can be as little as nothing.
What does the Black List take from my script?
Nothing. No option, first refusal, exclusivity or development claim appears anywhere, which is unusual at this level. The Submission Agreement does contain a broad idea-misappropriation waiver, a California section 1542 waiver and mandatory Los Angeles arbitration capping any award at WGA minimum.
Is there a cash prize?
No. No cash prize, stipend or grant is published for either cohort. The award is in kind: a week of workshopping plus coach-class flights within the continental United States, ground transport, accommodation and meals, all provided. Attendance and boarding on site are compulsory.
Am I eligible?
If you are over 18, the sole author of an original feature screenplay, and have earned no more than 100,000 dollars in total from prior scriptwriting work. No credits are required. No nationality rule is published, but flights are only offered from major airports within the continental United States.
Is your script right for The Black List Annual Labs?
Upload your screenplay and The PreList scores how well it fits this lab: genre, format, eligibility and readiness, before you spend anything.
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